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APPENDIX G: Technical Tools Overview
CCNMTL has a number of cutting-edge technologies at its disposal to deliver
online educational content:
 SQL Database—Educational information can be stored and categorized
in a SQL (Structured Query Language) database for later retrieval. A
database allows large amounts of information to be displayed in specific
ways, according to specific criteria. A database also allows websites to be
"dynamically-generated" and always contain the latest information.

SP Middleware—"Middleware" is a term for a program that connects a
database to a web page. The Java Server Page technology allows
CCNMTL to construct dynamic web pages that query information from a
database and display that information online.

Perl Middleware—Perl is another programming language that the Center
uses to create web pages and associated technology. The Center has
used Perl, in conjunction with other open-source image-processing
libraries, to create web-based tools to dynamically resize, index, annotate,
and create thumbnails of digital images. CCNMTL also uses Perl to
connect databases to the web.

XSL Processor—eXtensible Stylesheet Language is a method of
transforming content notated in XML (eXtensible Markup Language) into
web pages. CCNMTL uses XML to structure the storage of various types
of material, such as multi-lingual poems and long documents, including
books. The XSL Processor transforms the raw XML data into web pages
with formatting on the server, before the data reaches the end user. This
process ensures the benefits of XML without requiring users to have
modern, XML-capable web browsers.

Image & Asset Management—The Center tracks its various digital
assets with the aid of databases and metadata. The use of such
classification systems enables CCNMTL to re-use common elements
between different projects, track ownership and rights information online,
and provide an easy-to-use platform for end users to annotate and
contextualize digital images.

Digital Video Facilities—A sophisticated combination of high-end video
workstation hardware and software enables CCNMTL to rapidly log, edit,
enhance, and encode digital video for incorporation into educational
projects. Lectures and interviews are captured via professional Sony and
Canon digital video cameras. This video footage is approximately
broadcast quality, and the audio information is preserved at a CD-quality
level. The footage is transferred into the Center's computer systems
digitally, with no analog/digital conversion, resulting in a pristine digital
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copy. Other archival footage or historical films are digitized from legacy
sources such as VHS tapes.
Macintosh computers with G4 processors and Matrox real-time
video-processing cards provide the hardware platform for video editors
to manipulate video. FinalCut Pro, software from Apple Computer, allows
editors to lay down new CD-quality narration tracks, merge several
disparate scenes, or pan across historical photos or documents.
The final result is encoded into one of many possible streaming media
formats, including QuickTime 5.0 (Sorenson) and Real 8.0. The Center
optimizes the playback of streaming video for several different
bandwidth cases, from a 56k dial-up modem to a campus broadband
connection.

Streaming Media Server—A RealMedia server enables the Center to
"stream" audio and video content to end users, including previously-recorded
lectures and live events. In addition, a large archive of music and historical
video footage enable the Center's educational websites to deliver content that
varies from historical film footage to audible demonstrations of music theory.